A machine, such as a paver, includes a screed assembly installed thereon for paving an asphalt surface on ground. The screed assembly may generally be free floating with respect to a frame of the machine. As a result, a thickness of the paved surface and an angle at which the screed assembly may pave the asphalt on the ground may occur at an equilibrium of forces acting on the screed assembly from the asphalt being paved.
In many situations, the screed assembly may include a main screed and an extendable screed coupled to the main screed. The extendable screed may be adapted to increase a width of the screed assembly based on a position of the extendable screed with respect to the main screed. In such a situation, when a paving width may be changed based on an extension or retraction of the extendable screed, the forces acting on the screed assembly may also change. This change in the forces may result in variation in the thickness of the paved surface along a width of the screed assembly.
In order to maintain a desired thickness of the paved surface during change in the width of the screed assembly, one or more manual adjustments may be required to be done to the screed assembly. This may require manual intervention for adjusting the screed assembly, in turn, increasing process time, increasing machine downtime, reducing process accuracy/quality, and so on. Hence, there is a need for an improved control system for such a screed assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,583 describes an apparatus for controlling a material feed system of a paver. The material feed system includes a feeder conveyor and a spreader auger. The apparatus includes a sensor that monitors the amount of material at the edge of the screed and responsively produces an actual material height signal. A rotary switch produces a desired material height signal indicative of a desired amount of material at the edge of the screed. A controller receives the actual and desired material height signals, determines a desired rotational speed of the auger in response to the difference between the signal magnitudes, and produces a command signal to rotate the auger at the desired speed. An electrohydraulic system receives the command signal and rotates the auger at the desired rotational speed.